Verizon hit with $1.35 million wrist slap from FCC for supercookie tracking

You might some commotion about a year ago over Verizon’s tracking cookies for phones on their network. Big Red was tracking usage habits about users on the network, without alerting users or giving them a way to opt out of the tracking, but apparently they didn’t do a good enough job in giving customers control over everything, as the FCC has slapped with a fine over the ordeal.

The fine itself isn’t really a big deal. Verizon is looking at $1.35 million, which is a proverbial slap on the wrist for a company this size. However, this settlement also expands how much control customers will have over Verizon’s tracking capabilities on their devices, giving everyone the option limit the information that’s shared if they don’t opt out of the supercookie. That’s a big benefit considering how permanent those supercookies appeared to be.

The other stipulation in this settlement is that Verizon will also have to be upfront about tracking usage information about customers, which is what sparked this fire in the first place. The FCC has said that it wants to make the internet more transparent, and they’re really sticking to it.